Avventure nella Sud: Capri, Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii

These pictures are all a bit out of order, however, it was all the same trip so it coincides.

Last weekend, I took a journey to southern Italy to enjoy the even more beauty that this country has to offer in the Amalfi Coast. 

Staying at a beautiful hostel in Sorrento, I went to the island of Capri, the beautiful city of Positano, and saw the ancient ruins of Pompeii in Napoli, Italia.

Although the weather wasn't as sunny as we would have hoped, we had such a blast enjoying every moment of what these amazing places had. 

Capri (Kah-Pree) --how the Italians pronounce it 

This island was SO gorgeous. We arrived just as the sun was rising on over the island and took a boat tour around the entire island and saw the Blue Grotto (though the tide was too high to go inside), we saw one of Georgio Armani's many houses, a house of Denzel, and even a hotel that Winston Churchill stayed in which costs over $1000 per night. The island was SO beautiful, and although some of the things we wanted to do were closed due to the weather, we went around shopping for about 2 hours..a very dangerous thing indeed. I tried limencello. For the record, it is alcoholic. I thought it was a very delicious sweet Italian lemonade. A surprise to my taste buds when I literally took an entire shot of it, and was not expecting that. We ate at a restaurant by the sea where I had calamari and a Caprese salad. We saw the famous sandals of Capri where they make them custom to your desire and your foot size right then and there. All of the shops had the most amazing famous Italian hand painted bottles, spoons, dishes, and the more that I saw them, the more I decided I guess I will have to take another trip out to Capri in order to decorate my kitchen one day.

And then after a hunt of about an hour and a half...we got sweatshirts that I have only taken off once since I got it, I love it that much. (Just kidding, I mean I do laundry..)

Positano. 

This day. My favorite. The entire day was a bit gloomy and rainy, but it made for the most beautiful pictures of the fog entering the cliffs and meandering through the mountains of the coast. This city is literally built into the cliffs, it is so beautiful, a true GEM of the Amalfi Coast. For about an hour or two, the sun decided to peak through and we happened to time it perfectly and take a private boat to go cliff jumping and swim in a cave. SERIOUSLY. I could not believe my life. We pulled up to the cliffs, and they looked so small, but let me tell you...when you are standing 25 feet above the Mediterranean Sea staring down a straight 90 degree angle cliff..it instantly turns into a skyscraper. I cannot even describe the feeling of jumping off the cliffs into the ocean. I was in the air for about 5 or 6 seconds..it was incredible. I'm pretty sure my stomach came out of my throat and I left it in Positano. After the first time I jumped, I had to do it again...so I did it twice. After we got on the boat again, we pulled into a small bay where you could just see dark holes in the caves bordering the coast. I literally had not been in the water in over a month before this trip, so before they even lowered the anchor, I was the first to jump off the boat. And then...I literally experienced the most amazing thing in my life: I swam inside a cave in the Mediterranean Sea. The water was turquoise, literally..the temperature was so warm, there was pink and purple coral on the sides of the cliffs, I wish I could have captured the moment with a camera. Then, my friend Sara and I saw a very tiny channel to another cave, and they advised us not to go in there because you could get severely injured by the power of the waves pushing you against the coral, but of course we swam in it and started a trend. This was incredible and we literally STOOD up inside the cave and I started to climb the rocks above ground to see the sun again. Once the tide picked up though, we decided to head back because it was getting dangerous. This was seriously the most amazing thing I think I have experienced. It was SO beautiful, SO adventurous, SO AMAZING. I can't even..I just can't. I...yea....

Pompeii

I didn't know that much about Pompeii before going on the tour besides the fact that it was ancient ruins that were uncovered years ago. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it completely buried this city and left it perfectly preserved. This place was so ancient, I felt like I was almost in Greece. The body that you see in the picture, is a real body, over 2000 years old! It is perfectly preserved in ash. SO AMAZING. Mt. Vesuvius is still an active volcano, which I found very interesting, and it can erupt at any moment. There is still so much of this city that is uncovered, but they are waiting to uncover and dig up more of the city once the technology is advanced so they don't damage any of the ruins. Then, I ate pizza from Napoli. MOST AMAZING PIZZA OF MY LIFE. Oh dio mio. This trip was incredible...I am speechless when talking about Pompeii, though. It was just so historic and I couldn't fathom that I was walking through buildings and columns that were built before Jesus walked this earth. 

Un.Be.Lieve.Able.